It is very common for vehicle repair shops and collision centers to have disabled vehicles in their lots. These vehicles are usually involved in a collision with other vehicles or objects and such have often sustained damage to their tires, wheels and/or suspension component/s. Such damage renders the vehicle inoperable and immovable in a conventional way.
Moreover, recent vehicle models, especially electric or hybrid vehicles, can have an electrical malfunction that can also render a vehicle inoperable, and the popularity of such vehicles makes such situations increasingly common in automotive repair shops. In such cases, automotive repair shops are without options for moving the vehicle for short distances. Tow trucks are usually used to move disabled vehicles and that is commonly how such vehicles are delivered to the repair shop. However, within the parking lot of a repair shop, a tow truck is not practical for moving disabled vehicles. In fact, many repair shops do not have their own tow truck, and even if they do, it is not practical to use them for short distance transportation within a parking lot and repair shop bays. Due to the lack of options, the automotive technician is forced to resort to hydraulic floor jacks to move these vehicles, although hydraulic floor jacks are designed for lifting vehicles, but not moving them. In this use, the technician places the hydraulic floor jack underneath the damaged area of the vehicle. The technician lifts the damaged section of the car off the ground and uses the hydraulic floor jack wheels and casters to roll the vehicle to a desired location. However, this technique has significant deficiencies that can reduce the productivity of the technician and the entire repair shop, and can also increase the expense of the repair shop. The fact that the hydraulic floor jack is designed for lifting vehicles, and not moving them, creates challenges, problems and deficiencies for the technician and the overall repair shop operation.
In particular, one deficiency is that automotive hydraulic floor jacks are designed to operate on vehicles that are in a stationary mode. In particular, the same are designed for the purpose of repairing or servicing a vehicle's undercarriage, and are not designed nor are they suitable for rolling around the repair shop floor, especially when supporting the weight of a vehicle.
Another deficiency is that hydraulic floor jacks are not designed and are not suitable for maneuvering over or around small potholes, slopes and ramps. The use of the hydraulic floor jack to move disabled vehicles over or around potholes, slopes and ramps can significantly compromise the safety of the technician and the vehicle being moved.
A further deficiency is that the inefficient activity of moving disabled and heavy vehicles using hydraulic floor jacks causes fatigue for the technician which can result in lower productivity and possible injury. This activity is inherently slow moving, sluggish, and challenging to perform, and is a difficult way to maneuver a vehicle.
Yet another deficiency is that the prolonged utilization of the hydraulic floor jack to move disabled vehicles can inflict a great deal of structural stress and damage to the hydraulic floor jack's mechanical components, such as the wheels and casters. As a result, these hydraulic floor jacks are forced to have premature functionality failures, downgraded performance, and considerably shorter life expectancies. Such premature failures significantly impact the life expectancy of a valuable automotive repair shop tool, especially since hydraulic floor jack components are not serviceable and replacement parts are not available.
This Background is provided to introduce a brief context for the Summary and Detailed Description that follow. This Background is not intended to be an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter nor be viewed as limiting the claimed subject matter to implementations that solve any or all of the disadvantages or problems presented above.